Is a Personal Trainer right for your goals?

Sometimes the best motivator is the one with the loudest voice. A personal trainer can provide not only the expertise and knowledge behind getting you in shape, but the accountability that comes with having a session scheduled. Suddenly you can’t cancel as easily when you’re paying for it, and there is an underlying motivation to hit fitness milestones when you’ve paid to accomplish them.

Results still require hard work from those who enlist personal trainers, and signing up with one doesn’t immediately ensure you will reach your goals. However, with hard work and a regular fitness regime, significant results can happen. An example is Stef, an Ottawa local in her late twenties who was married in the Fall of 2013. Six months before her wedding, she enlisted the help of a personal trainer to tone up her body and slip into her beautiful wedding dress. She sought out a trainer both for their ability to produce fast results, and their background knowledge on nutrition and healthy lifestyle choices. Stef wanted to lose weight, tone up and most importantly: keep it that way. She was willing to work hard at the fitness side of things, but knew eating properly and getting enough rest were also important components to that weight loss journey.

She was skeptical when her trainer told her that the number on her bathroom scale might not change drastically, but that she would be smaller in size. “I didn’t believe her, how could that be possible?” Stef says. Her skepticism was quickly sated when the fat started to melt off and she began noticing more definition in her stomach, thighs and arms. Her energy increased, and by the time her wedding rolled around she also relied on exercise as a healthy outlet for stress. “I lost 30 lbs overall.” Stef says, “10% body fat, 20 inches and a dress size.” Her immediate worry afterwards was not having the personal trainer to motivate her on a consistent basis, and Stef feared she would gain the weight back that she had lost. This Fall marks her two year wedding anniversary, and Stef has kept the weight off and continues to work at toning her muscles with regular visits to the gym and a healthy diet without the help of a personal trainer. The exercises that she uses now are the ones she was taught by her trainer, and she has a better understanding overall of the best methods to tone her body.

If you have a goal in mind, consulting a trainer on the steps to reach it is never a bad idea. They can give you some direction and idea of what hurdles to expect, and provide support along the way when you come up against them. It’s like having a therapist for your fitness needs; someone you can confide your late night snacking habits in without judgement, and receive the guidance to work through your vices.Whether you’re losing weight for health or are just sick and tired of being sick and tired, a trainer is a partner you can lean on for your journey.